House Resolution 127 and Gun Control in the United States

House Resolution 127 aka the Sabika Sheikh Firearm Licensing and Registration Act was introduced into the House on February 4, 2021 by Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18).  This act, if it becomes law, will significantly impact gun ownership in the United States and will target nearly every gun owner in America.

  

Here is the lead page of H.R. 127:

 

For those of you who are not aware of Sabika Sheikh, she was a 17 year old Muslim exchange student from Pakistan who was killed along with seven other students and two teachers during a shooting by a 17-year-old student at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe in May 2018.

 

Let's look at some of the highlights starting with the licencing of firearm and ammunition possession and the registration of firearms:

 

"The Attorney General, through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, shall establish a system for licensing the possession of firearms or ammunition in the United States, and for the registration with the Bureau of each firearm present in the United States."

Under the Firearms Registration System, we find this:

"Under the firearm registration system, the owner of a firearm

shall transmit to the Bureau—

(A) the make, model, and serial number

of the firearm, the identity of the owner of the firearm, the date the firearm was acquired by the owner, and where the firearm is or will be stored; and

(B) a notice specifying the identity of any person to whom, and any period of time during which, the firearm will be loaned to the person."

The deadline for supplying this information to the ATF is as follows:

  

"(A) in the case of a firearm acquired before the effective date of this section, within 3 months after the effective date of this section; or

‘‘(B) in the case of a firearm acquired on or after the effective date, on the date the owner acquires the firearm."

 

The information on all registered firearms and ammunition will be stored on a database established and maintained by the Attorney General.  The database will be accessible to all members of the public, all Federal State and local law enforcement authorities, all branches of the United States Armed Forces and all State and local governments.

 

In order to get a gun licence, individuals will have to meet the following requirements:

 

"The Attorney General, through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, shall establish a system for licensing the possession of fire- arms or ammunition in the United States, and for the registration with the Bureau of each firearm present in the United States.

 

(i) has attained 21 years of age; 

 

(ii) after applying for the license—

 

(I) undergoes a criminal back- ground check conducted by the national instant criminal background check system established under section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, and the check does not indicate that possession of a firearm by the individual would violate subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 or State law;

 

(II) undergoes a psychological evaluation conducted in accordance with paragraph (2), and the evaluation does not indicate that the individual is psychologically unsuited to possess a firearm; and

(III) successfully completes a training course, certified by the Attorney General, in the use, safety, and storage of firearms, that includes at least 24 hours of training; and

 

(iii) demonstrates that, on issuance of the license, the individual will have in effect an insurance policy issued under subsection (d)."

 

For military-style weapons, the psychological evaluation is even more rigorous:

 

(A) the evaluation is conducted in compliance with such standards as shall be established by the Attorney General;

 

(B)  the evaluation is conducted by a licensed psychologist approved by the Attorney General;

 

(C) as deemed necessary by the licensed psychologist involved, the evaluation included a psychological evaluation of other members of the household in which the individual resides;

And

 

(D) as part of the psychological evaluation, the licensed psychologist interviewed any spouse of the individual, any former spouse of the individual, and at least 2 other persons who are a member of the family of, or an associate of, the individual to further determine the state of the mental, emotional, and relational stability of the individual in relation to firearms."

 

Firearms licences may be denied to individuals that:

 

1.) have a chronic mental illness or disturbance

 

2.) are addicted to a controlled substance or alcohol

 

3.) have attempted to commit suicide

 

4.) the individual has engaged in conduct that posed a danger to self or others

 

A licence can also be suspended for individuals who are under indictment for crimes that are punishable for a term exceeding one year in length.  

 

The legislation also requires that individuals who have applied for a licence must have an insurance policy that insures the firearm owner against liability for losses or damages resulting from the use of any firearm by the person.  The annual fee for this firearm liability insurance is $800.

 

All firearms owned by individuals must be registered; those individuals who do not register their firearms will be subject to a fine of not less than $75,000 and not more than $150,000 and imprisoned for not less than 15 years and not more than 25 years or both.

 

In closing, let's look at a few of the potential issues that face American firearms owners. First, none of this should be surprising to anyone given Joe Biden's campaign promise as shown here:

 

Second, the heavy use of psychological assessments allowed under H.R. 127 will potentially discriminate against anyone who has ever seen a therapist, had to get treatment for mental health issues relating to being a victim of abuse and veterans suffering from PSTD.  

 

Third, the annual fee of $800 for "government firearms insurance" will discriminate against poorer Americans who are highly unlikely to be able to afford the insurance premiums which are certainly going to rise in the future.  

 

Fourth, there is no grandfathering clause for any of the proposals listed under H.R. 127, essentially creating a subclass of "criminals" who were formerly regarded as lawful gun owners under current firearms laws.  Under this legislation, after the three month effective date of this legislation, all gun owners will be considered criminals until they declare all of the details of their firearms to the federal government.

Fifth, given the record number of Firearms Background Checks during 2020 and the first month of 2021 as reported on the FBI's NICS website as shown here:

...there are going to be significant headwinds to the Democrats' proposal for gun control and registration.

Sixth, given this:

...it is very clear which voters House Resolution 127 is targeting.

In closing, the bill has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary for its input.

Firearms and the Defeat of Donald Trump

There are often unintended consequences to the actions that governments take but rarely do they occur before an administration actually takes office.  The 2020 Presidential election in the United States is turning out to be a prime example of "what can go wrong, will go wrong".

 

Let's start by looking at this:

The Biden campaign promised the following (among others):

 

1.) banning the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

 

2.) regulate the possession of existing assault weapons under the National Firearms Act.

 

3.) buy back the assault weapons and high-capacity magazines already in our communities.

 

4.) reduce the stockpiling of weapons by limiting the number of firearms an individual may purchase to one per month.

 

5.) require background checks for all gun sales.

 

6.) reinstate the Obama-Biden policy to keep guns out of the hands of certain people that are unable to manage their affairs for mental health reasons.

 

7.) close the hate-crime loophole which allows an individual who has been convicted of a hate crime from possessing a firearm.

 

8.) end the online sale of firearms, ammunition, gun parts and kits.

 

Now, let's take a look at the most recent data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's monthly NICS firearms background checks:

 

In the month of October 2020, there were 3,305,465 background checks completed under the National Instant Criminal Background Checks System (NICS).  While background checks are not the same as sales, the FBI's NICS database is a reasonable proxy for predicting gun sales.  In total, so far in 2020, 32,131,914 NICS background checks have been completed, an all-time record and well above the previous record of 28, 369,750 background checks completed during all of 2019.  In part, this is due to the unrest that the United States experienced during the demonstrations held in mid-2020 but I would suspect that some of this increase, particularly during October 2020, is due to the aforementioned campaign promises made by the Biden/Harris campaign.

 

According to calculations made by the National Shooting Sport Foundation (NSSF), nearly 5 million of these NICS checks were for first time gun owners in the first seven months of 2020 as quoted here:

"NSSF tracks the background checks associated with the sale of a firearm based on the FBI’s National Instant Background Check System (NICS). NSSF-adjusted NICS checks for January through July 2020 is a record 12.1 million, which is up 71.7 percent from the 7.1 million NSSF-adjusted NICS January through July 2019. This equates to nearly 5 million first-time gun owners in the first seven months of 2020.

 

“This is a tectonic shift in the firearm and ammunition industry marketplace and complete transformation of today’s gun-owning community,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President of General Counsel. “These first-time buyers represent a group of people who, until now, were agnostic regarding firearm ownership. That’s rapidly changing, and these Americans are taking hold of their God-given right to keep and bear arms and protect themselves and their loved ones.”

 

NSSF surveys revealed that 58 percent of firearm purchases were among African American men and women, the largest increase of any demographic group. Women comprised 40 percent of first-time gun purchasers. Retailers noted that they are seeing a 95 percent increase in firearm sales and a 139 percent increase in ammunition sales over the same period in 2019.

 

Several factors are contributing to the sustained surge in firearm purchases. Sales spiked in March, with a record-setting 2.3 million NICS background checks conducted for a firearm sale, the same month the coronavirus pandemic struck. During this time, police warned response times would be tested while mayors and governors emptied prisons, including violent felons. Some of those were rearrested within days for committing another violent crime. After Memorial Day, protests turned to looting, riots and destruction, which continues today in several major metropolitan areas. Politically-charged calls to defund police also continue to spur sales.

 

This is also an election year and firearm sales typically rise during presidential election years. However, this year, Democratic candidates Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) are calling for stringent gun control measures, including forcible confiscation, banning entire classes of firearms from lawful possession, licensing schemes and repealing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which would expose the firearm industry to frivolous and harassing lawsuits." (my bolds)

 

According to an article on the Gun and Survival website, gun buyers are worried about several issues; volatile political rhetoric, civil unrest, police brutality, Black Lives Matter and the economic decline due to the COVID-19 lockdown.  According to the article, gun buyers are "...also worried about the risk of increased gun control if the Democrats win the White House".

 

Given that the Democrats appear to have taken control of the White House, it will be interesting to see what happens to NICS background checks during November and December of 2020 and the first half of January 2021 before the Pence Administration controls America's "gun narrative".  I would be rather surprised if Biden's threats to control firearms doesn't result in record sales of guns in an already high gun ownership society.

Gun Violence Restraining Orders - A Possible Solution to America's Gun Issues

Updated August 2019

With both sides of the political spectrum firmly entrenched in their beliefs about gun ownership and with Congress in the back pocket of the gun lobby, it is highly unlikely that the rights granted under the Second Amendment are under threat.  Americans will continue to own guns and a very small minority of those Americans will use their lawfully acquired firearms to kill innocent men, women and children.  One state, California, has a solution that seems to appeal to both sides of the political spectrum and may form the basis for national gun laws that are palatable to the majority of Americans.

In September 2014, the Governor of California signed into law Assembly Bill Number 1014, Chapter 872 which stated the following (in part):

"Existing law regulates the sale, transfer, possession, and ownership of firearms, including prohibiting specified persons from owning or possessing firearms. Existing law, among other things, generally prohibits a person subject to a domestic violence protective order from owning or possessing a firearm while that order is in effect.

This bill would authorize a court to issue a temporary emergency gun violence restraining order if a law enforcement officer asserts and a judicial officer finds that there is reasonable cause to believe that the subject of the petition poses an immediate and present danger of causing personal injury to himself, herself, or another by having in his or her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm and that the order is necessary to prevent personal injury to himself, herself, or another, as specified. The bill would require a law enforcement officer to serve the order on the restrained person, if the restrained person can reasonably be located, file a copy of the order with the court, and have the order entered into the computer database system for protective and restraining orders maintained by the Department of Justice. The bill would require the presiding judge of the superior court of each county to designate at least one judge, commissioner, or referee who is required to be reasonably available to issue temporary emergency gun violence restraining orders when the court is not in session.

This bill would additionally authorize a court to issue an ex parte gun violence restraining order prohibiting the subject of the petition from having in his or her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving, or attempting to purchase or receive, a firearm or ammunition when it is shown that there is a substantial likelihood that the subject of the petition poses a significant danger of harm to himself, herself, or another in the near future by having in his or her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm and that the order is necessary to prevent personal injury to himself, herself, or another, as specified."

Gun violence restraining orders or GVROs are similar to the restraining orders that are commonly issued under family law.  In this case, the GRVO allows spouses, parents, siblings or a person living with an individual (i.e. ex parte) that may pose a firearms-related threat to petition the court for an order that would allow law enforcement officials to temporarily take that individuals firearms.  By allowing family members to petition the courts directly, the issue of law enforcement dropping the ball, as was the case in the recent Florida school shooting, is eliminated.  In the Florida school shooting, the FBI admitted that it did not respond properly to a timely warning by a person close to Nikolas Cruz (the shooter) that he posed a firearms threat.  In fact, this is what FBI director Christopher Wray had to say about the FBI's ineptitude and what Americans should be doing about gun violence in their neighbourhoods:

"It’s up to all Americans to be vigilant, and when members of the public contact us with concerns, we must act properly and quickly." 

This "dropped FBI ball" could have been eliminated under a GVRO system.

Under California's GVRO, the court is authorized to issue an ex parte gun violence restraining order which would prohibit the subject of the petition from having in his or her custody or control, owning, purchasing, possessing or attempting to purchase or receive a firearm or ammunition when it is shown that that individual is likely to cause harm to themselves or others in the near future with said firearms.  The GVRO would expire no more than 21 days after the date on the order and would require the court to hold a hearing within 21 days of issuing the order.  The  order can also be renewed for additional one-year periods if the respondent is still deemed likely to be a threat.  In case you thought that GVROs could be used by persons with a grudge against another person who just happens to own firearms, the bill makes it a misdemeanour to file a petition for a GVRO knowing that the information in the petition is false or is made with the intention to harass.

What should appeal to both sides of the gun debate is that the gun violence restraining order recognizes the right to own firearms, the right of self-defence and the right of due process in a court of law.  The fact that the request for the GVRO is sourced from people close to the respondent rather than from law enforcement officials who are often viewed as simply interested in confiscation is also somewhat reassuring.

Since the law went into effect in 2016, California has issued 76 gun violence restraining orders and 10 restraining orders after a hearing for a total of 86 GVROs during 2016.  A total of 15 orders were issued by Los Angeles County courts, the most in California, followed by Santa Barbara County courts.

While gun violence restraining orders may not be the entire solution to America's gun issues, at the very least, it puts the power to prevent gun violence in the hands of families rather than law enforcement and politicians, two groups that have long proven themselves to be incompetent when it comes to controlling at least some civilian firearms deaths.